- May 21, 2026
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SportsMafia Wire graphic. Photo: Quintin Soloviev via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0. Team logos via ESPN.
Cincinnati knocked off No. 8 Texas Tech 37-24 on Saturday, ending the Red Raiders' nine-game Big 12 winning streak and putting the conference's three-team College Football Playoff hopes on shaky ground.
JC French threw four touchdown passes and Cole Tabb rushed for a career-high 173 yards as the Bearcats broke a two-game losing skid. The Red Raiders committed three turnovers and never recovered from Cincinnati's 21-point second-quarter burst.
The win was only Scott Satterfield's second ranked victory at Cincinnati in four seasons.
Texas Tech's path now looks steep. The Red Raiders likely need to win out, with Arizona among the remaining challenges, to repeat as Big 12 champions and claim the automatic CFP berth. Their best possible finish is 11-1.
The focus shifts to Saturday night's Houston at Utah matchup, with the winner joining No. 2 BYU atop the conference race. Houston has won four straight since losing at Texas Tech. Utah's strength of schedule ranks No. 99 nationally, worst among Big 12 ranked teams.
Cincinnati faces Utah and Houston in back-to-back weeks, giving the Bearcats continued influence in the title chase.
Mickey's Angle: The Big 12's depth is now its curse—too many contenders beating each other up could leave the league with just one CFP team come December.
Source: CBS Sports - written by Mickey the Mouth from the original report.